I thought I should probably share some pictures that we took on our trip to France. I took a ton of photos on my sweet Diana, but it seems like it may be time for a new Diana - I think her lens is shot.
We started off in Paris for a few days. We stayed in a lovely little apartment near the Bastille, just a quick walk to the Marais. This was the view from the apartment - not bad, hey?
We ate at the Bistrot Paul Bert on our first evening, which was a recommendation from a chef friend. The white asparagus were delicious and HUGE, and I couldn't complain about the dessert:
We were serenaded by this guy outside of our apartment one evening - a one-man band.
We spent some time driving through the Loire and visited Chenonceaux, thereby fulfilling a childhood dream of mine. We got there early enough on a Monday that we nearly had the place to ourselves.
We ran through the maze, toured the chateau and I enjoyed wandering through the flower gardens.
Dinner in the Loire valley. That's some serious bacon in that salad. Following the salad, I ordered the "special" sausage for dinner. Our server said that she liked it and that it was very "strong". It was tripe. I tried to be open minded but did not succeed.
Our home-base in the South: Hyeres. Quiet and beautiful. We spent a day exploring and ended up at the 12th century castle that overlooks the town. No one else was there.
A dinner of mussels & chorizo in the town square.
We took a day trip to the beautiful Ile de Porquerolles, about a 20 minute boat ride from the coast of Hyeres. This is me in my swimmie:
A drive through the Riviera ended with dinner in Menton:
A brief stop at the beach in Eze:
A wonderful day in Aix-en-Provence, which is still a favourite town of mine. We stumbled across a strange little museum.
It was market day, and we strolled through the flower market (heaven!)...
...the fruit and vegetable market...
...and the meat & fish market.
Our day ended with a truly excellent dinner at the Bistrot des Philosophes.
We spent a few days wandering through the tiny, picturesque towns in Provence before heading back to Paris for another day.
Also, I may have purchased a few things. I'll photograph them and show you later. Promise.